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“Prayer is joyous breathing, by which the heavenly atmosphere is inhaled and then exhaled in prayer.” Andrew Murray

Recently I participated in a sweat lodge and was invited to pray out loud with witnesses. I found myself feeling very exposed by allowing others to hear my conversation with the Divine. For as long as I can remember I have had a private inner-conversation with God. In my mother’s home this was cultivated and encouraged. We had permission to pray in a natural way. Mom shared by example the sense of relief, healing and support we can experience through prayer.

Although I have this easy natural prayer life, I have been hesitant to show this side of myself to others. Prayer has been so intimate for me that praying out loud was like being naked in front of strangers.

Part of the fear of revealing my prayer life has been fear of judgment. Fear that outside of religious organizations, prayer is shunned or seen as weird, uncool. Prayer is vulnerable. Through it we are revealing our needs and desires in the most intimate way. Yet prayer is our strength. It helps us grow a sense of greater certainty with our inner-guidance.

When I am struggling with anything in my life and finally pause to converse with the Divine about my struggles I find immediate relief. There is a shift in the tension I’ve been carrying, a sense of support from the universe, even if nothing has changed in the outside circumstances. Often the outside circumstances do change once I have surrendered the outcome. And at a minimum I feel my perception of the circumstances changes. I feel less stuck.

When I’m stuck in a space of stress it is hard to see clearly for myself. It’s hard to see all my options or a way out. I unconsciously have given my power away to some situation or circumstance that feels bigger than me. It is in the simple act of prayer, sharing my heart with the Divine, that the breakthrough comes. Light shines into the darkness and helps me see clearly again.

Yet even with a lifetime practice of inner prayer I still forget to pray. It generally is when life is most challenging that I go long periods without remembering to ask for Divine support, without surrendering my will to the will of the Divine.

So I encourage you to pray. Regardless of your belief system, this conversation with a Higher Power is transformational. It frees us from our burdens. It clears space in our heart and mind so we can see the answers and hear our inner-voice.

Breathe in the breath of the universe. Breathe out your prayers of gratitude and requests for support from the Divine.

We all want clarity, to feel solid about our decisions and choices. We want to know what is best for us. What path to take. We realize at a deep level that no other person can give us the answer. We may seek reflection and input from others, but we are doing so to hear ourselves speak our first thoughts, notice our response to this advice, to see if we agree or disagree and why.

We know there is information available to us that is immeasurable, essence level insight. Stuff we can’t explain even though we try to explain it. We wish we felt a more solid about to the intuitive guidance available to us. We want to know we are making choices that will lead to happiness.

Clearly interpreting our inner-guidance is not a skill taught in school or at home. Often when we have an intuitive aptitude for reading other’s energy it is a result of needing to develop this skill for our own safety or survival. It can be more difficult to see our own truth when our intuitive skills were cultivated from a point of trauma or lack. To develop clarity we need to remove obstacles to our vision.

There are as many layers of experience influencing us as there are years in our life, some would say more. When we begin to focus attention on listening to our inner-guidance, it’s like learning to walk all over again. Our legs are a little wobbly, we let the momentum of gravity move us forward and toss a leg out to balance ourselves, then another. Only learning to trust its support and gain confidence in our body as we maintain our balance with each forward step.

To develop the skill of trusting our intuitive guidance, a daily meditation practice is essential. This doesn’t need to be an hour with your eyes rolled back into your head and an empty mind. The type of meditation I refer to is tuning into your energy body for 5 or 15 minutes. I do so every day while walking my dog. It’s that simple. Focus awareness on the following elements:

Grounding Cord – that which connects us to the foundation of the earth, our root extending from the tip of our spine to the center of the earth

Cosmic Energy –energy from the spirit realm, flowing down into us from the crown of our head

Earth Energy – energy from the earth, it runs up through our legs to join with the cosmic energy

Center of Head – the space between your ears and behind your eyes where you “see” rather than “feel” intuitively

Tuning into these energy tools and claiming them for ourselves, will dissipate the fog of doubt and help us clean out external influences. Meditation is an essential form of spiritual housekeeping that allows us to see clearly. From the
space of greater clarity we can even identify when we need external perspective to get beyond our own blocks. Meditation prepares us for deep listening, the kind that helps us break through the mistof uncertainty so we can align action with our vision to create the life we want.

There are many ways we contribute to the content of what is manifesting in our lives: thoughts, beliefs, emotions, actions, inaction, words spoken to others and requests to our higher power. With each of these we are adding possible outcomes to our future experience. It is not the circumstances we are in so much as the beliefs, thoughts and feelings we have about them that affect our happiness. We are much more powerful than we give ourselves credit for in the creation of our life.

Last spring I saw Esther Hicks speak in Colorado and I was reminded of a potent truth in the concepts presented through her channeling Abraham. The law of attraction or manifestation, from the perspective of Spirit is uninhibited by the perceived limitations of the Physical. It is all about matching energetic vibrations. Abraham calls it the Vortex, an energy space in the future that we are filling non-stop through our emotions both positive and negative. The Vortex doesn’t have an opinion about what vibrations we put into it. It is there, as I see it, like a master soup bowl that continues to simmer as we add ingredients simply by directing our energy. The resulting flavor is a combination of all that has been added. This perpetual pot of soup that sits on the stove of our lives continues to change form based on what we are adding to the pot. On a bad day we might put in a heaping spoonful of doubt or fear, on a good day we might add clarity and love. The next week, month or year, when we finally get around to tasting the concoction that has been brewing in our future, we may be appalled by it, “Hey Universe/God, this isn’t what I ordered!” Unfortunately we did order it. We just weren’t paying attention to how our thoughts, feelings, actions and words were contributing to our future dining experience.

This isn’t to suggest we should make matters worse with self-criticism or try to control the full spectrum of emotions. The intent is to bring to consciousness our power to contribute to a more fulfilling, juicy meal. One of those dining experiences that you hope will never end, where each bite is taken slowly with pleasure. What hit home with me about the Abraham message, was that when we are in those moments of low biorhythm or in a state of negativity, we can stop adding ingredients to the soup by taking a break from thinking about what it is we “wish” were true and what we “want” in the future, instead just do life. Wash the dishes, do the laundry, go grocery shopping, head to the gym and don’t engage in the creation process. When we are in an unconstructive emotion it is easy to get caught up in the struggle around changing our experience and in doing so inadvertently add vibrations to our Vortex of future experiences that we don’t want, rather than those we desire.

Last summer I was at a yoga retreat and campout in Estes Park, Colorado. After my first morning of yoga I wasn’t quite ready to be done with the meditative time from savasana. I walked down to the river, rolled out my yoga mat and sat in silence. My body and spirit were conflicted, it was noon and I needed nourishment. I considered walking back to my tent to get an apple, but decided my physical hunger wasn’t as important as my need to listen to Spirit. My life was in transition. I watched clear water ripple over the river’s rocky bottom, releasing desire, allowing my mind to rest in the space that had been created from stretching. Then I laid back and looked up into the sky and treetops. Camouflaged among the leaves of a tree I noticed an apple. I sat up in amazement, suddenly seeing apples all around me on the ground. What a joy! I picked a ripe apple from the tree and ate before returning to meditation.

My spirit had found its way to the one particular spot by the river where its needs could be met without distractions from my body’s hunger. The apple tree was my everyday miracle. It made me ponder how often I’ve been blind to what was being offered when it was right in front of my face. It renewed my faith in listening to my inner guidance and reminded me of the importance of taking care of both physical and spiritual bodies.

This summer I have been on another journey, this one farther away from home, a longer cycle of listening to my inner guidance and trusting the divine mystery. Along the way I have experienced a sense of universal support in the form of beautiful places to rest my head at night, animal and bird messengers, unexpected connections and out of the ordinary topics of conversation with strangers. In parallel, there have been emotionally and financially challenging events, the death of an old family friend, a dog fight, expensive car repairs and the dynamics of spending time close to family. Each an opportunity to respond with fear or love, to use the stirred-up energy to heal or feel wounded.

On the land where I’m house sitting, surrounded by misty forest, there are two apple trees. The fruit is not quite ready but I can see that it will be ripe soon. The apples remind me to notice life’s blessings and receive its nourishment. When I am on the path, choosing love, the universe provides for my needs in the most simple and magical ways.

On July 7th I set out on a visionary journey to explore my next step. I left Colorado and drove through Wyoming and Utah, stopped to stay for a few days in Nevada, then continued west to the San Francisco Bay Area. From a regal old mansion in Berkeley, California I explored my surroundings and gave clairvoyant healings. Now after a meandering drive through Napa Valley wineries, Redwood National Forest and Ashland Oregon I’ve arrived at my family’s ranch in the coastal mountain range of northwest Oregon. My intention has been to stay open and listen deeply to my inner guidance every step of the way. For the journey my spirit asked me to pause the weekly blog post. I walk in trust, allowing the insights to simmer in my heart. The universe has been gracefully supportive of my sojourn, connecting me with magical people and places. I look forward to sharing more with you when the time is ripe.

At times I get stuck in a pattern of belief that my mind can derive the bottom-line truth in a given situation. Yet my brain is just a measuring device for the sensory messages it receives from my body. The body sends messages that are interpreted by the mind through the senses of sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste. The mind takes these bits of information makes a conclusion, and then asks us to do something about it. The spirit uses different points of reference to calculate the best way to move forward. Our intuitive guidance system taps into a non-physical knowledge that can also lead us safely through life experiences.

Last weekend I was climbing Mt Yale, a 14,000 foot summit in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Hiking at altitude creates sensations in my body that are interpreted by my brain as repetitive signals to “stop, turn back.” The lack of oxygen and steep terrain challenge my lungs, muscles and circulatory system with forms of resistance that feel life threatening. I hike at high-altitude to experience a sense of mind or over matter, to somehow prove my mind wrong by overriding its interpretations with a higher truth. I know I can do it. I know I will survive.

On the ascent I can briefly distract my mind with the sight of aspen and pine trees, the sound of the gushing glacier-melt creek, the smell of wildflowers and conversations with my friend. Yet the distraction is always temporary as my mind continues to want to regain control of the situation. Hiking Mt Yale I was conscious of my spirit experiencing the hike. When my body began to feel exhausted and my vision was a bit dulled, to the point where I didn’t see every rock on the trail, instead of feeling fearful that I would stumble, I noticed my spirit was guiding me. I saw with clarity the parallel existence of how my mind interprets its experience beside how my spirit interprets the experience. Both are equally capable of providing guidance that keeps me safe. The difference is that when I’m listening to my spirit it is not concerned about reaching the summit or measuring the energy left in my physical body relative to what is required to get me to where I need to go. My spirit is present in the moment. My spirit says, “I am moving forward. I will keep moving forward. I want to move forward.”

Mind-body measurement of our experience is 100% in the physical/material realm. The challenge is that the mind does not know how to interpret intuitive information. If the message it’s receiving from the body contradicts intuitive guidance the mind goes to battle with spirit and tries to override the spiritual knowing in an act of physical self-preservation. The mind does not know how to interpret the emotional indicators beyond the physical sensations they generate, pain or pleasure.

Next time you notice that your mental and spiritual guidance are in conflict, acknowledge both the indicators from your physical body experience and what you know intuitively. Let this awareness of the source of data help break gridlock that can keep you stuck. The mind is not the final truth. It is one source of information available to you. Intuition offers insight that can help us move forward when the mind is resistant.

In today’s world the analytical mind is king while trusting intuition is judged as emotional and subjective. This cerebral approach to life attempts to figure things out and feel in control. Recent natural and man-made disasters have drawn to our attention the reality that humans do not have control over planet Earth. We can forecast the weather and volcanic eruptions, build dykes to protect us from tidal changes and use science to perform feats such as drilling for oil at great depths of the ocean, but this does not put us in control of the forces of nature. As long as we are not personally impacted by a hurricane, tornado, earthquake or tsunami we are able to live in denial, believing that technology will save us from the realities of our environment. Our belief in science has distracted us from true intuitive power that comes with alignment to the vibration of the Earth.

The human body is amazing in its capacity to understand and process an exceptional quantity of data. We have unintentionally detached from our primal-sensory nature through educational programming that validates the analytical mind combined with the many conveniences science and technology provide. Opportunities to touch the Earth and feel its pulse are not part of our daily lifestyle. Because of this we’ve lost contact with a facet of our intuitive capacity, experiencing a sense of separation from Mother Nature. When we take time to be in non-manmade environments we increase our access to inner guidance. A hike, mountain bike ride or work in the garden, saturate the visual auditory and sensory facilities with a neutral form of energy. Nature is chaotic and extremely organized in a material as well as spiritual sense. This reminds us of the invisible aspects of our Self.

By immersing in the Earth’s vibration we tune-in to a primal side of our human nature. The aspect of our energy that can sense when lightening is about to strike, as the hair on our arms stands on end. In the city we are swallowed up in a stream of news, whether it is fact, fiction or entertainment, it draws our attention away from our inner guidance. It keeps our focus pointed externally rather than internally. Mother Nature is the ultimate cleanser of psychic space. Her wild wide-open spaces download the information inundation that has clogged our receptors with predominantly useless data. The simple act of being in nature, regardless of the activity or inactivity of our body, can be an intentional form of meditation. When we see a hawk, daisy or the bark on an aspen tree we presence ourselves to beauty, resilience and simplicity.

The fire hose of data constantly inundating our life can be exhausting and overwhelming. It makes us want to crawl back into our shell, tune-out, take a break. The most vibrant place to take that break is in Mother Nature. Connection to the Earth’s vibration helps us align to the part of ourselves that is chronically being overridden by an analytical minded environment. Mother Nature offers us a healing of sensory overload and provides clearer access to our inner guidance. Let us receive her gift.

Rarely do we wake up and ask ourselves, “Will I ignore the messages from my soul or listen to them today?” Instead we dive headlong into the moment: shower, coffee, breakfast, dog, kids, commute, work, exercise, dinner, lover, social activity, household to-do list, TV. We say YES or NO to whatever requests cross our path. In the midst of it there is our inner observer always on-call to assist us in making choices that define our life. It is one of the greatest challenges we are presented with in the human experience to stay aware of our inner guidance, to recognize our truth in any given situation, to say YES to our YES and NO to our NO.

Change is constant and unstoppable. When we resist change or stay stuck in a behavior that we have outgrown, we build up a backlog of denied requests from our inner guidance. As time passes the dam begins to fill with this avoidance, resistance and control. We are blinded by busyness and the path of least resistance often is the familiar more comfortable one. Saying yes to a little piece of inner guidance feels like a crack in the dam that could burst and flood our entire life with change. Beneath the fear is a desire for personal transformation, the kind that brings greater joy and peace. We want to feel free to be our authentic self. We want to choose our life rather than simply run from one demand to the next.

Taking a step in the direction of our intuitive truth may require facing a backlog of self denial. When we don’t choose to get un-stuck of our own free will, often life helps us along though introduction of unavoidable changes in those around us, our job, our health or some other wake up call. The more frequently we acknowledge and act on our inner truth the gentler the process of personal transformation and change becomes. Today say YES to your intuition; establish a co-creative relationship with it, a dialog that expands your awareness of the subtle ways your spirit communicates with you. Intuition is your tour guide to life. It is within you, free and always accessible if you listen.

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"Natalie has a grounded and loving way of guiding you to greater self-knowledge that assists you on your soul's journey. I experience profound 'ah-ha' moments during and after our sessions, as well as noticeable energetic shifts resulting in deeper peace and joy. She delivers spiritual insights and information with humor, kindness and compassion." -Jennifer